(LiveMint)
Announcing an allocation of Rs10,000 crore for the government’s ambitious health insurance programme, dubbed “Modicare”, Union minister for health and family welfare J.P. Nadda on Thursday said the scheme will be fully functional by October.
The announcement came a day after the Union cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the centrally sponsored Ayushman Bharat National Health Protection Mission (NHPM), labelled the world’s largest health insurance scheme. It aims to provide health cover to nearly 40% of the population—more than 100 million poor and vulnerable families—with the premium paid by the government.
“The beneficiaries have already been identified. The health ministry will start validating beneficiaries in April and ensure that the scheme is ready for implementation in four months’ time,” said Nadda. “The NHPM under Ayushman Bharat programme is a major step towards universal health coverage. It will be the largest public funded health protection scheme in the world.”
